Imouto
by Amai Kitsune
Summary: The Spirit Detectives have been able to handle anything that comes their way so far. But there is one thing that they haven't been up against yet: Koenma's little sister.
1. Meeting Mizuki

Imouto  
  
Amai: For authenticity (and because I'm finally learning more), I've thrown a few Japanese words into this story. -Chan and -kun are hard to translate, so just remember that they are for friends, -chan for females (and occasionally males, but only if you're being cutesy) and -kun for males. All others will be translated at the end of the chapter. Also, the names are in traditional Japanese format, last name first.  
  
CHAPTER ONE: Meeting Mizuki  
  
The Spirit Detective team found themselves gathered around Koenma's desk, all looking either confused, curious, bored, or some combination of the above. The leader of Spirit World had called them all in, saying it was urgent and they had to show up right away. He'd been so nervous- or something akin to that- that he had actually dropped his binkie three times. Koenma could keep that thing in his mouth through any predicament, even having the ogre forcefully tug on the babyish accessory, so if he was worked up enough to drop it then there was something quite wrong!  
  
"So what's up?" Yusuke finally asked. Koenma had been sitting staring at them- well, more like through them for a solid five minutes. Yusuke was getting ticked.  
  
"Mizuki," Koenma practically growled. The whole team was rather surprised; none of them had ever heard the toddler use that tone!  
  
The four guys all exchanged glances, but Botan seemed to know what Koenma was talking about. "What's wrong this time?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing together in concern.  
  
"That stupid girl has done SOMETHING to have a demon assassin after her, and she doesn't even know what it is!" Koenma shouted, his tiny body lifting from the seat with the sheer force of his agitation.  
  
"Who is Mizuki?" Hiei finally asked just when it seemed that the toddler was about to hyperventilate. Koenma simply pressed a button on his desk, opening a door on the far wall. A teenage girl who had apparently been leaning on said door fell backwards into the office. She promptly scrambled to her feet and dusted herself off, smiling brightly at the others. She had very straight brown hair that fell about an inch below her chin and dark brown eyes that sparkled. She was dressed like an American human, wearing a yellow, blue and red striped spaghetti strap top with flare-legged low- slung jeans and bright yellow flip-flops. It gave her a very cheery effect.  
  
"I wondered when you were going to let me out of there, anchan [1]!" she said happily, hopping over to hug Koenma tightly around the neck. The toddler began to grumble complaints and a several veins popped out on his forehead.  
  
"I didn't know you had an imouto [2], brat," Yusuke laughed. It was a rather strange sight to see a teenage girl hugging a toddler and calling him "big brother", so he wasn't the only one laughing.  
  
"Mizu-chan, it's been a long time!" Botan said gleefully, running and embracing the girl. "You've let your hair grow out." Mizuki nodded and tossed about the brown tresses.  
  
"Hey, where did your friend Jorge the ogre go?" Mizuki suddenly asked Koenma.  
  
"He ran away screaming the second he heard you were coming," Koenma replied grumpily. "Last time you were here you 're-filed' all his important paperwork after eating too much chocolate, remember? He's probably chained himself to the file cabinets again."  
  
"Enough chit-chat, why are we here?" Hiei snapped. The fire demon was becoming increasingly impatient with the current situation.  
  
"An assassin is after Mizuki, and since this particular assassin just happens to be a demon, you are going to be her bodyguards," Koenma explained. "Mizuki lives in the Human World, in America. You will all be staying at her house until the assassin is apprehended." Koenma glanced around the room to see the silent team's reactions.  
  
"So we don't know how long this is going to last?" Kurama asked. Koenma nodded.  
  
Mizuki suddenly grinned. "Hello new friends! My name is Mizuki, but my friends call me Mizu-chan! May I have the pleasure of learning all your names as well, since we will all be living together?" She looked around expectantly.  
  
Kurama was the first to reply. "You may call me Kurama. I'm-"  
  
"A kitsune [3], pleased to meet you, I've heard about you!" Kurama thought Mizuki was going to shake his hand, but instead she jumped on him and clung with her arms and legs. "You're a good height for glomping," she observed. Kurama was blushing beet red. "Okay, who do I meet next?"  
  
Kuwabara jumped forward and held his arms open wide. "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, but my friends just call me Kuwabara. I'm a good height for glomping too!" He was practically drooling. Instead of glomping him, however, Mizuki slapped him heartily on the back.  
  
"Sorry, I don't glomp guys that I know are pervs," she told him. "Hey Koenma-anchan, does the hentai [4] have to come too?"  
  
"I don't suppose so..." Koenma said thoughtfully. At the moment, his "big brother instincts" were trying to kick in and even though he absolutely hated his imouto, he wanted the redheaded hentai AWAY from Mizuki. "Kuwabara, you're in charge of finding out the assassin's identity and whereabouts. Everyone ELSE will be Mizuki's bodyguards." Kuwabara's jaw dropped, Yusuke was laughing his head off, and Mizuki seemed smug. No one else really seemed to care.  
  
Yusuke's laughter was cut short when Mizuki glomped him from behind. "So what's your name?" she asked while petting his slicked-back hair to see what it felt like.  
  
"Urameshi Yusuke," the punk answered. "You can get off me now."  
  
Mizuki ignored his last comment. "Well, Yusuke-kun, you're not as good a height for glomping as Kurama-kun, but I like your hair," she said, stroking the slick black strands. But in a moment she was gone again, this time bothering the fire demon.  
  
"So, by process of elimination, you must be Hiei," she observed. She bent over and met Hiei's red gaze with her own chocolate brown one. After about a fifteen second staring contest, she spoke. "You're short." Hiei merely "hn"-ed and closed his eyes.  
  
Mizuki seemed pleased that she now knew all her bodyguards and bounded over to Koenma's desk. She took off his large bulbous hat and placed it on her own head. "I think that it's time for you to go home now, Mizuki," Koenma growled.  
  
"Okay!" she agreed, shoving her anchan's hat back on his head. "Let's go my new friends!" She swept around the room until she had her arms and/or hands linked with all four of her bodyguards. "Sayonara [5] Koenma-anchan!" Mizuki called out. Suddenly she, Kurama, Yusuke, Botan, and Hiei disappeared into thin air.  
  
Translations  
  
1: Older brother  
  
2: Little sister  
  
3: Fox demon  
  
4: In this case, pervert  
  
5: Goodbye 


	2. Welcome Home

Imouto  
  
Amai: For authenticity (and because I'm finally learning more), I've thrown a few Japanese words into this story. -Chan and -kun are hard to translate, so just remember that they are for friends, -chan for females (and occasionally males, but only if you're being cutesy) and -kun for males. All others will be translated at the end of the chapter. Also, the names are in traditional Japanese format, last name first.  
  
And, I have review responses!  
  
Sillyningengirl: I'm glad you like it! I'm sorry to tell Hiei this, but his suffering has only just begun...  
  
Yavie Aelinel: Love the name! But yes, there is good reason to pity the boys. But I don't think Mizuki ever got dropped on her head. My theory is that she has an organ that produces caffeine naturally. ;)  
  
CHAPTER TWO: Welcome home  
  
Yusuke and Hiei fell to the floor upon arrival, and Kurama and Botan only managed to stand because they were closest to Mizuki and she had a firm hold on them. "What the hell was that?" Yusuke asked, rubbing his head and looking indignant.  
  
"Teleportation!" Mizuki answered brightly. "Tousan [1] gave me a spell so that I can teleport between Koenma's office and my house when I decided to move to the Human World. He wanted me to be able to visit anytime I needed to."  
  
"I've never been to your house before, Mizu-chan," Botan remarked, looking at her surroundings. "It seems very nice." At the moment the group was in a large living room with plush furnishings in shades of yellow, green, and orange. The walls were painted spring green with orange and yellow flowers stamped on for a border. A pair of French doors, white with silver leading in the glass panes, faced towards the east and looked out into the front yard. A wide open arch gave a view of a yellow and spring green kitchen, and a hallway in the opposite direction was painted the same as the living room. No other rooms were visible, but one could guess that they were just as bright. Mizuki seemed to like vivid colors.  
  
"My humble abode," the girl announced proudly. "But it's even better if you start from the outside and then go in." She gathered up the others and herded them through the French doors and into the front yard. Mizuki didn't let anyone turn around and look until they were at the end of the cobblestone walk.  
  
"That is NOT a house. That is a MANSION!" Yusuke exclaimed. And indeed it was. There were three stories, the first two having wraparound porches with old-fashioned gingerbread trim, the third floor with a couple of small balconies. The paint was lavender with pink and white trim and a plum- colored roof. There were flowering trees of a type no one seemed to recognize that bore saucer-sized flowers fading from purple on the inside to pink on the outside. They lined the walk to the front porch as well as the driveway, and were planted in the spaces between windows on the front of the house. They matched the paint job perfectly.  
  
When Botan happened to comment on the unusual trees, Mizuki grinned proudly. "They're my own variety. These and all my other plants are from Spirit World, or derived from Spirit World plants. Oh, except for one from Demon World. I like to garden." She reached up into the nearest tree and plucked off one of the saucer-sized blooms. She twirled around a few times before bouncing up to Hiei and sticking the flower right into the middle of his white starburst of hair. "There, that's so cute!" she said, patting the fire demon's head.  
  
Hiei slowly and deliberately pulled the flower from his hair and dropped it on the ground, smashing it thoroughly underfoot. "Baka [2]," he muttered angrily. Kurama and Yusuke were trying very hard not to laugh. Botan wasn't even trying; she was leaning on one of the trees in order to keep herself from falling over.  
  
Mizuki seemed unfazed by Hiei's reaction, however, and she was soon dragging her bodyguards around again, this time inside. "Come on, I have to show you around the house if you're going to stay here! You'll all get your own room and everything!" The Spirit Detective team was too surprised to react and was easily pulled along.  
  
Mizuki started in the living room, even though they'd already seen it. Then she took them into the huge kitchen that they had gotten a glimpse of earlier, which she said was one of her favorite rooms in the house. It was divided into two sections, the actual kitchen and a multipurpose area. The kitchen had an oversized refrigerator, a smooth-top stove, a huge two sided sink, and plenty of counter space. The spring-green overhead cabinets had yellow doors, and the under-the-counter cabinets were yellow with green doors. In the multipurpose area was an extra-tall table with several barstools sitting around it. There were more of her special Spirit World plants in here, mostly small ones in pots on the windowsills, but one large tree with bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that went from floor to ceiling in one corner. The smaller plants didn't seem to have any blooms at the time.  
  
Next was the dining room, separated from the kitchen by a pair of free- swinging doors painted with pink and spring green zigzags. The dining room had bright pink walls with cherries around the top border. The dining table and chairs were shining white, the seat covers and placemats having a pink gingham and cherry motif. There were more plants in here, but only two small potted plants in the center of the table with pale reddish berries that resembled cherries but obviously weren't.  
  
Mizuki dragged them down the hallway next, but it was just a couple of storage closets and a small half-bath. At the end of the hall they were led up a spiral staircase- painted blue and yellow- and to the second floor. "This will be the floor you boys sleep on," Mizuki said. "It's the guest floor. There are five bedrooms and you can pick among them as you like. All but two of them have their own bathrooms, and those two share one big bathroom. I don't care how you choose. Have fun, I'm going to show Botan our floor!" Mizuki grabbed Botan's arm and dragged the reaper upstairs, leaving the boys to their own devices.  
  
Kurama began opening doors and looking into rooms. Like the main living areas, all the bedrooms were decorated in bright colors, and each bathroom matched its respective bedroom. One was red and blue with a twin bed and double doors leading out onto the wraparound porch. Another was green and yellow with a king sized bed, with a pocket door onto the porch. A third was blue and green with a double bed, also attached to the porch by double doors. The fourth and fifth rooms shared a bathroom, and they were mirror images of one another, right down to the furniture and color schemes. None of the boys wanted to touch those rooms; they were decorated pink and yellow with floral print bedspreads and flower-shaped windows in the doors that led to the porch. Hiei claimed the red and blue room and quickly shut himself inside. Kurama and Yusuke divided up the other two rooms with a game of Rock Paper Scissors; Kurama ended up with the yellow and green room, Yusuke with the blue and green. Kurama also shut himself in his room for a while, but Yusuke was determined to explore the refrigerator better.  
  
Meanwhile, Mizuki had Botan put into a room just across the hall from hers. Botan's room was huge, nearly twice the size of any of the boys' rooms, decorated in pink, lavender, and baby blue. It was attached to a sunny yellow bathroom complete with Jacuzzi tub. "This is amazing, Mizu-chan. It's huge!" Botan exclaimed. Mizuki nodded.  
  
"Well, you haven't seen my room yet!" she said, dragging the reaper across the hall. Mizuki's room was decorated with rainbows, clouds, and suns. There was a huge stereo on one wall and an assortment of CDs stacked next to it. Opposite the stereo was a big-screen TV complete with VCR, DVD player, Playstation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube. A collection of tapes, DVDs, and video games filled a shelf next to the huge television. Another shelf next to Mizuki's king-sized rainbow tie-dye bed was filled with what appeared to be books. Closer up, they were actually manga.  
  
"How and why do you have so much stuff?" Botan asked, her jaw agape.  
  
"Because I like it. Tousan gives me money for whatever I want because he likes to spoil me rotten. Koenma-anchan [3] doesn't complain because so long as I'm happy here I don't come to visit him often. He doesn't like it when I come to visit." She shrugged and skipped over to her TV. "Hey Botan- chan, have you ever played DDR?"  
  
Translations  
  
1: Dad  
  
2: Moron, idiot, fool  
  
3: Older brother 


	3. Arrows and Pizzas

Imouto  
  
Amai: For authenticity (and because I'm finally learning more), I've thrown a few Japanese words into this story. -Chan and -kun are hard to translate, so just remember that they are for friends, -chan for females (and occasionally males, but only if you're being cutesy) and -kun for males. All others will be translated at the end of the chapter. Also, the names are in traditional Japanese format, last name first.  
  
Before we start the chapter, it's time for (insert drum roll here) REVIEW RESPONSES!  
  
Sillyningengirl: You know what the sad thing is? I WOULD paint my house like that. How do you think I got the idea? But at least your room is red and blue. I was nice about the guys' room colors.  
  
Yavie Aelinel: Now that I know what your name means, it's even cooler. I'm a big Tolkien fan too! But I wasn't expecting anyone to want to be like Mizuki. I thought I created her to be annoying. (Scratches head and thinks) (Shrugs and gives up) Well, hope this chapter is as good as the last!  
  
Okay, and a shameless plug here: Would anyone read my other Yu Yu Hakusho fic, "Once Upon a Dream-Time"? It hasn't gotten any reviews yet, and I'm sad. :(  
  
CHAPTER THREE: Arrows and Pizzas  
  
Hiei was sitting on his bed, meditating quietly and minding his own business, when he first heard it.  
  
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp-stomp-stomp!  
  
The ceiling above him was being pounded to some sort of rhythm. When he listened closer, he could hear music with the same beat as the pounding. 'What is going on?!' he thought angrily, his face forming a grimace. Now that it had his attention, he couldn't ignore the pounding or the very annoying music that went along with it. It was coming from directly above him. There was only one thing to do- go upstairs and see what it was.  
  
Hiei threw open the door to his room, making a loud SLAM that caused Kurama to poke his head out and see what was going on. "That damn pounding," Hiei muttered as an explanation before stomping up the bright blue and yellow spiral staircase. Once he was up there he could hear the music even more clearly, and laughter too. He made his way over to a closed door that was painted in rainbow stripes and said "Mizuki" in bold white letters and white Hirigana [1]. The music, laughter, and pounding noises originated here.  
  
Hiei slammed open the door to see Botan and Mizuki in front of a big-screen TV, hopping around on floor mats with arrows on them. The TV screen had arrows sliding upwards, and the speakers were blaring music. The song had no words, but a tune that Hiei was sure would get stuck in his head for days to come, with all his luck.  
  
"Da da da, da dada da, da da da, da dada da, daaa, da da da da da da, da dadada da da..." Mizuki was singing along with the wordless song, and quite loudly. [Amai: For my fellow DDR fans, if you don't recognize the song already, it's Candy! YAY!] The girls were having so much fun that they either didn't notice or chose to ignore Hiei's entrance until their song was over. That gave the fire demon plenty of time to seethe. His bedroom WOULD have to be right under the annoying girl's with her stupid arrow- stomping annoying-music thing.  
  
When the song was done the girls decided they needed a short break, and now Mizuki paid attention to Hiei. "Konnichiwa [2] Hiei-kun!" she said brightly, bounding over and patting him on his spiky hair, giggling loudly. "To what do we owe the honor of your presence?"  
  
"Your arrow-stomping thing can be heard down in my room," Hiei said coldly. "It is loud and annoying."  
  
"Arrow-stomp... oh, you mean DDR! It's fun, you should try it!" Mizuki said, nodding vigorously. Botan began laughing at the thought of Hiei playing Dance Dance Revolution, and the fire demon glared at her with all the venom he could muster.  
  
"Hey Botan-chan, wanna go raid the fridge for munchies?" Mizuki asked, looking back to her blue-haired friend. Botan nodded and Mizuki quickly turned off DDR. Then the two girls ran downstairs, leaving Hiei still standing in the doorway to Mizuki's bedroom.  
  
In the kitchen, Yusuke was already seated on one of the tall barstools and digging into a large bowl of ice cream. "You didn't eat the last of it, did you?" Mizuki asked, looking pointedly at Yusuke's bowl.  
  
"How could I eat the last of the ice cream when you have nearly-full gallon buckets of seven different flavors, not to mention a bunch of individual cups?" Yusuke replied almost sarcastically. Mizuki laughed and assured him that she'd been joking before going over to the freezer and seeing what was in it.  
  
"It's almost dinner time, who's up for frozen pizzas?" she asked upon finding a few. Botan and Yusuke agreed, as did Kurama who had just come downstairs to see where everyone had disappeared to. Mizuki sat down at the table with the other three after popping two of the pizzas into the oven. Hiei was still unaccounted for, but everyone just guessed that he was back in his room now that there was no more music and pounding to disturb him.  
  
"So if you're Koenma's imouto [3], why haven't we ever met you before?" Yusuke asked. "And how come you're not a toddler?"  
  
"I don't know why Koenma-anchan [4] likes to be a toddler. It's so much more fun to be a teenager!" Mizuki sighed. "But my anchan doesn't like me much. He says I'm annoying. He won't even admit to most people that we're related."  
  
"I've known Mizu-chan for years, but we haven't seen each other in forever," Botan added. "Since she lives over here in America and I've been spending most of my time in Japan or Demon World helping you guys, our schedules haven't exactly coordinated."  
  
"What made you decide to live in America, Mizuki?" Kurama queried, leaning forward on the table.  
  
"I found a spot that I liked. Unlike in Japan where Daddy wanted me to live, here in America there's plenty of land for my gardens for less money. Land in Japan is expensive 'cause there's not much of it." Reminded of her plants, Mizuki got up and grabbed a watering can which she quickly began filling in the sink. She walked over to the huge yellow-trumpet plant in the corner and began to water it, talking baby-talk to it as she did. The plant rustled and wiggled, making Kurama, Botan and Yusuke stare. "Oh, it enjoys attention, so I talk to it while I water it," Mizuki said, shrugging as if a plant that could move and respond to her was nothing out of the ordinary. "It's called a Tiger Trumpet because the mature blooms have black stripes on them. It comes from Demon World."  
  
"I've heard of those. But don't they need blood in addition to water?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Actually, meat puree mixed with water is even better for them. It's made mine the biggest one on record." As if it knew it was being talked about, the plant wiggled around again.  
  
"You are really strange," Yusuke commented, meaning Mizuki. The girl just laughed and agreed; it wasn't everyone who had a blood-drinking plant that responded to speech, after all.  
  
"So, Mizuki-san, when did you first encounter an assassin?" Kurama asked. The kitsune hadn't forgotten the reason the Spirit Detectives were all here, and he intended to get the information.  
  
"Don't call me Mizuki-san. I hate formalities. I'm Mizu-chan," Mizuki said while she put away her watering can. "But it was this morning, in this very room. I had taken my breakfast outside to eat in the garden because it was sunny, and I was bringing my dishes back in. Those windows," she pointed to the three large windows behind them, "were all open, so I guess that's how he got in. I had my back to the windows, putting the dishes into the dishwasher, and I thought I heard something so I looked behind me. There was a man with two katanas. I screamed, and I must have startled him because he ran away so fast that I couldn't even see where he disappeared to. I immediately teleported to Koenma's office to ask for help. I was scared silly!"  
  
Kurama nodded slowly, but Yusuke had another question. "What makes you so sure that this was a demon?"  
  
"Well, I was pretty sure he was a demon when I first looked at him. He had blue hair that was about shoulder-length, and I could see the points of his ears through it. Also, his face was mostly covered, but what I could see of the skin around his eyes seemed to be purple or blue and his eyes themselves were very obviously red. And when he ran that fast I was positive."  
  
"Were there any other distinguishing features?" Kurama asked.  
  
"Well, he wore all black and his face from the nose down was covered by a handkerchief or something like that tied around it. I did get a good look at his one of his katanas though; he only had one out of the sheath. The hilt was silver with a dragon engraving wound around it. I don't know why that stood out so much, but it did." Mizuki seemed to be continuously glancing towards the windows now; she was plainly jittery the more she talked about that morning.  
  
"And you're sure that you don't know of anything you might have done?" Yusuke prodded.  
  
"I stay home most of the time, so I don't think I could have made anyone angry, at least anyone who would know a demon assassin. I've never been to Demon World in my whole life, even my plant was brought to me by Tousan [5]. The only thing I can think of is that I'm King Yemma's daughter. Tousan has enemies; people who would love to kill or capture me to make him angry or afraid. But as far as I know they're all locked away. It's never been a problem before." By now Mizuki's face was getting pale, and every trace of her characteristic cheeriness had disappeared. Yusuke seemed to have more questions, but Kurama elbowed the boy in the side to call attention to Mizuki's condition. Fortunately he took the hint, and the kitsune brought about a quick change in conversation.  
  
Hiei came downstairs when the smell of the cooking pizzas began to flood the house. Botan was cutting the first while Mizuki pulled the second out of the oven. Yusuke and Kurama were still seated at the table, having a discussion about something that the fire demon could care less about. He sat silently at the table just as a plate with a slice of pizza was set in front of his chair. Hiei noticed that Mizuki still wasn't quite her normal color and her eyes were still darting about nervously. "What's wrong, onna [6]?" he asked before Kurama could stop him.  
  
"Nothing at all," Mizuki replied flatly. Not another word was said until after everyone had finished eating.  
  
Translations  
  
1: The phonetic Japanese "alphabet"  
  
2: Hello  
  
3: Little sister  
  
4: Older brother  
  
5: Dad  
  
6: An insulting term for "woman" that is similar to "bitch" 


	4. Fun and games

Imouto  
  
Amai: For authenticity (and because I'm finally learning more), I've thrown a few Japanese words into this story. -Chan and -kun are hard to translate, so just remember that they are for friends, -chan for females (and occasionally males, but only if you're being cutesy) and -kun for males. All others will be translated at the end of the chapter. Also, the names are in traditional Japanese format, last name first.  
  
Yay, review responses now!  
  
Sillyningengirl: Well, Koenma finds her annoying because she usually causes chaos in his office. Remember, she "re-filed" all of his important paperwork on at least one occasion. In Mizu-chan speak, that means she threw them all over the room.  
  
Kawaii Kitsune Cub: You really think Mizuki is loveable? Wow, I feel special now. I created a loveable character. Yay!  
  
Yavie Aelinel: At least Mizuki didn't get hurt. Just scared out of her wits. I don't blame her, though. I get scared when there's a cockroach in my house, much less a demon assassin.  
  
CHAPTER FOUR: Fun and games  
  
After dinner, Mizuki seemed to be back to her old self. She was smiling and laughing again. Suddenly she stopped, slapped both hands on the table, and shouted, "How could I be so stupid?!" The other four blinked, but only Botan was brave enough to ask what the girl meant. "I brought you here and didn't even give you time to pack anything. I'm so sorry," Mizuki apologized. "We've got to go back now!"  
  
After a short discussion, it was decided that the only feasible way to go back was for Mizuki to teleport to Koenma's office, from where they could return to Japan via portal. Hiei and Yusuke were not so eager to teleport again, seeing as they had fallen flat on their butts the last time. Their pride was the only thing hurt, but to Hiei and Yusuke that was a major injury. It was only when Botan threatened to make them pay for their own plane tickets back that they agreed on teleportation.  
  
Koenma was startled and jumped under his desk when the group popped in, but it was only a moment before he was back in his chair and screaming at them for coming back before the assassin was captured. "What if he returns while you're away?! You could lose a chance to catch him!" the toddler scolded. "The only way I will allow this is if you all go to your own houses and then meet up back at the portal as soon as you're done. You've got to return to Mizuki's home as soon as possible! We can't waste a single moment!"  
  
"And I can stay here and visit with you, Koenma-anchan [1]!" Mizuki added cheerily. Koenma blanched at the thought.  
  
"Iie [2], you can't be separated from your bodyguards. You'll go with Yusuke," he ordered, pounding his tiny fist on the desk a few times for emphasis.  
  
"Bad idea," Yusuke objected. "If Okaasan [3] finds me bringing a girl home she'll think something's up. If she's drunk she might even do something weird like chase Mizu-chan out of the apartment. The only way I could fix it would be to blab about my Spirit Detective job."  
  
Koenma nodded in understanding and looked to Hiei next, but Kurama intervened before the toddler could say a word. NO ONE had ever been allowed to see where Hiei actually lived, although it was well known that the fire demon spent many nights sleeping in random trees. "Mizu-chan, you can come with me," the kitsune offered quickly. "I think Kaasan [4] will enjoy talking to you for a while. She loves to meet new people, but since she can't get out of the house often." Mizuki nodded eagerly to the proposal.  
  
Soon Mizuki was skipping down the street with Kurama walking either behind or beside her, depending on how often she stopped to look at something. "It's been so long since I was in Japan! I always forget how different it is from America!" she said breathlessly. Kurama merely chuckled.  
  
When they got to Kurama's house, he stopped Mizuki at the door. "There are a couple of things you need to know," he explained. "Kurama is my demon name, but here I am called Shuuichi. Also, Kaasan is ill and rather weak. She'll be very glad to speak with you, but please don't tire her." When Mizuki looked confused, the kitsune decided to keep it simple. "Stay calm and quiet and I'll buy you Pocky [5]." Mizuki cheered and hugged Kurama around the neck, thanking him profusely and promising to be on her very best behavior.  
  
"Kaasan, I'm home," Kurama called out when he opened the door.  
  
"Shuuichi!" A rather pale, thin woman was sitting in the front room, but she slowly got to her feet to come and embrace Kurama. "I'm so glad to see you back. What's kept you away this time? You're so busy for being so young!"  
  
"I have a very important job, Kaasan, but you know I'm not allowed to talk about it. I'm going to be out of town to work for a while, so I have to pack up and then be on my way again." Kurama then reached around and pushed Mizuki forward. "Kaasan, this is Mizuki. I work with her, and I thought you might like to visit with her while I get ready." Mizuki politely bowed and smiled.  
  
"Are you Shuuichi's girlfriend?" Kurama's mother asked with complete innocence. Both Mizuki and Kurama hurriedly assured her that this was not the case.  
  
Kurama left Mizuki chatting with his mother in the front room while he rushed to pack everything that he would need for a stay in Mizuki's home. The kitsune was rather surprised to hear no hyper outbursts, but then again, he HAD promised the girl Pocky. After stuffing a suitcase he went back to the front room where Mizuki and his mother were pleasantly conversing.  
  
"I'm sorry Kaasan, but Mizuki and I have to hurry back," Kurama apologized.  
  
"I hate to hear that Shuuichi," his mother said sadly. "Thank you for bringing your friend to talk to me. She may not be your girlfriend, but perhaps you could reconsider that." Kurama blushed, even when his mother assured him she was only joking.  
  
"Don't worry, Shuuichi-kun, I'm taken," Mizuki giggled. The two said goodbye to Kurama's mother and headed back towards the portal to Spirit World.  
  
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Mizu-chan," Kurama said after a while.  
  
"Iie, not really, I just didn't want your mother to have the wrong idea," Mizuki laughed.  
  
They stopped in at a little store on the way. There, Kurama bought the promised Pocky. Indulgence in the sugary treat kept her quiet- at least relatively so- all the way back to the portal. Yusuke and Hiei were already waiting, but Botan had yet to arrive. There were also three girls there that Mizuki didn't recognize. They had come along with Yusuke, so he introduced them. A rather tall girl with brown hair was Kuwabara's neechan [6], Shizuru. Mizuki went blank on the name Kuwabara for a moment, until she suddenly blurted out "Oh! The hentai!" Shiziru merely laughed. A shorter girl, also with brown hair but in a different style was Yusuke's childhood friend Keiko. The shortest of all, a girl with sea-green hair named Yukina, was Hiei's twin sister.  
  
"I'm sorry to see Yusuke leaving again, but it IS his job," Keiko sighed. "At least America is easier to get to than the Demon World."  
  
"Well, why don't you come too? I've got plenty of room," Mizuki offered. "You're all welcome to come, in fact! I wouldn't want to keep friends apart just because I had a demon sneak into my kitchen." Kurama and Yusuke exchanged skeptical glances at her downplay of the event. They had seen her reaction earlier, after all.  
  
Keiko thought it would be fun. It was summer break, so she'd have to come back when school started, but until then she could stay. Yukina also wanted to come. She'd seen so little of the Human World, and seeing America would be wonderful. Only Shiziru had to decline, claiming that her otouto [7] couldn't get along without her. "When this whole thing is over you'll have to come hang out with us again," she added.  
  
So Keiko and Yukina ran home, returning soon with packed bags. Botan got back at about the same time with about twice as many bags as anyone else, which is why she took so long. Since everyone was there, they headed back through the portal and into Spirit World.  
  
Koenma was not pleased that Mizuki had invited more guests. "They could be in danger!" the toddler protested. The boys all jumped on that immediately, insisting that they would never allow such a thing. Finally Koenma relented, but only after Mizuki bribed him with a piece of her Pocky.  
  
A quick teleport home (this time Hiei, Yusuke, AND Kurama all fell down) and Mizuki showed Keiko and Yukina to the two remaining guest rooms. It was now nighttime in America, but only afternoon back in Japan, so no one was tired. Mizuki should have been, but she was wired on Pocky. She was bouncing around the house singing some weird song. No one understood the lyrics because they were in English. Actually, Botan understood, but she wasn't translating. So they simply had to wonder what it meant when Mizuki danced around the living room singing "WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (WHO, WHO, WHO?)"  
  
After a while Mizuki tired of the song, even though she was still hyper. She dragged the other three girls up to her room, saying that she wanted to show them something.  
  
"I'm growing tired of this job already," Hiei complained, plopping down on the bright yellow sofa in the living room. "That girl is annoying."  
  
"She's kind of weird, but she seems nice enough. She's letting us stay in her mansion, after all," Yusuke pointed out.  
  
"She's got a lot of energy, but I'll have to take the blame for her current condition. I was the one who bought her Pocky, after all," Kurama admitted. Hiei apparently agreed, because he was glaring hatefully at the kitsune.  
  
"And she let us bring the girls along," Yusuke added, still on the same track as before. "And I don't have to go to school until this is over with."  
  
"She does have many unique plants for me to study," Kurama said thoughtfully.  
  
"So you two think you're going to enjoy staying here, don't you?" Hiei spat. "We're just here for our job. Once it's over with, we're gone."  
  
"Lighten up, shrimp," Yusuke casually replied. He kicked back in an orange overstuffed armchair. "If we have to be here, why not have fun?"  
  
Suddenly, music blared from the very walls, practically shaking the house. Unlike the song Mizuki was singing earlier, the boys actually recognized this. "Kami [8]! I HATE this song!" Yusuke shouted. It was "Butterfly" by Smile DK [another one my fellow DDR players might recognize!]. Hiei was holding his hands over his ears, as was Yusuke, while Kurama searched for the source of the music. As it turned out, there were speaker panels set into the walls and painted to blend in. They were set high up, near the ceiling, so you didn't see them unless you were looking for them.  
  
"How do you shut the damn thing off?!" Yusuke screamed.  
  
"I would guess the controls are in Mizuki's room, since that's where everyone else is," Kurama replied.  
  
"Then I suggest we go up there and make them turn it off!" Hiei stormed up the two flights of spiral stairs, still bombarded by the annoying music, to Mizuki's rainbow-striped door, which was unsurprisingly shut and locked. The fire demon pounded on the door, and when he got only laughter in reply, he began to shout. "Don't make me break down this door!" he raged.  
  
Yusuke had followed him and was also pounding on the door now. Kurama was back at the stairs, leaning on the railing and looking rather amused. Truth be told, the kitsune didn't have anything against the song, but he wasn't about to say so.  
  
Mizuki poked her head out the door just as the song switched from "Butterfly" to "Domo Domo Domo". "What do you want, Hiei-kun?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"Turn off the music in the living room!" Yusuke shouted angrily.  
  
"Spoilsport." Mizuki ducked back inside and a moment later shouted, "Okay, the living room speakers are off!" Hiei and Yusuke happily returned to the now-silent first floor, but Kurama was curious as to what the girls could possibly be doing. His sensitive hearing was picking up loud bouts of girlish laughter from inside Mizuki's room. The curious kitsune walked over and knocked on the rainbow-striped door. Mizuki answered again.  
  
"Mizu-chan, what in the world are you doing in there?" Kurama asked while trying to see past her into the room. His view was quickly blocked by the other three girls who came to stand behind Mizuki.  
  
"Don't tell him, Mizu-chan," Botan said.  
  
"Iie, Kurama-kun's okay, he gave me Pocky," Mizuki replied. "We should let him join!" The other three girls' eyes lit up at the prospect, which made Kurama hesitant. "You can only find out what we're doing if you join us," Mizuki taunted. Kurama cursed his fox curiosity, but reluctantly agreed. He was immediately pounced upon and dragged into the brightly colored room. The girls were sitting in a circle on the floor, and placed Kurama between Mizuki and Botan.  
  
"We found out that Yukina-chan has never played Truth or Dare before, so of course we just had to play," Botan explained. "And Mizu-chan has taught us a few new things too."  
  
"Like the double dare!" Keiko said. Kurama asked for an explanation.  
  
"Every person gets one double dare during the game that they can use during any turn," Mizuki said. "A double dare involves as many people as they want, and the victims can't argue. They have to do it. Otherwise you can refuse any truth or any dare."  
  
"But," Botan interrupted, "if you refuse the truth or the dare given to you, the other person can choose anything. So if you want truth but refuse to answer, they can give you another truth OR a dare!"  
  
"It sounds interesting. It should be fun to try playing Truth or Dare," Kurama mused. All the girls except Yukina paused to stare. "What?"  
  
"You mean you've never played either?" Keiko asked incredulously. "I should get Yusuke to play, then! We need a guy to play that has some experience." Mizuki and Botan exchanged glances and then nodded in agreement. Kurama had the distinct feeling that he was missing something.  
  
Keiko only managed to get Yusuke into the room after Mizuki turned off Smile DK. But once the J-pop [9] was off, the Spirit Detective seemed eager to join in. He sat down between Keiko and Botan with a wicked grin on his face. Mizuki covered the rules quickly; Yusuke seemed especially delighted at the double dare. "So let's get this thing going!" he exclaimed.  
  
Translations 1: Older brother  
  
2: No  
  
3: Mother  
  
4: Mom  
  
(It is important to note the difference between "Okaasan" and "Kaasan"; Okaasan is more formal, while Kaasan is more familiar. I thought that, since Yusuke doesn't have a very good relationship with his mother while Kurama does, they would use different versions.)  
  
5: A Japanese candy  
  
6: Older sister  
  
7: Younger brother  
  
8: God  
  
9: Nickname for Japanese Pop 


	5. EVIL!

Imouto

Amai: For authenticity (and because I'm finally learning more), I've thrown a few Japanese words into this story. -Chan and -kun are hard to translate, so just remember that they are for friends, -chan for females (and occasionally males, but only if you're being cutesy) and -kun for males. All others will be translated at the end of the chapter. Also, the names are in traditional Japanese format, last name first.

And the review responses... (Drum roll)

Tatara Rose: Hiei is my favorite character, too. But he's SO easy to torture! :)

xkuroxshinobix: Glad you like it!

Yavie Aelinel: I write this story best when I'm in a good mood. That's why I've been able to write this last chapter despite a MAJOR writer's block! :P

Sillyningengirl: This is where the Truth or Dare fun REALLY begins. Yay! But don't worry Hiei-kun, Mizuki always has plenty of ice cream.

CHAPTER FIVE: EVIL!

"I'll go first," Botan volunteered, "and we'll go clockwise around the circle." The reaper stopped to think for a moment, looking around the circle, before choosing Keiko as her first victim. Keiko wanted Truth, so Botan asked, "What's the biggest secret that you know about Yusuke-san [1]?"

"Hey, wait, that's not fair!" Yusuke protested.

"You can ask any truth, even if it's about someone else," Mizuki countered. "Go on Keiko-chan, answer!"

Keiko was silent for a moment while she thought of a suitable answer. "His biggest secret is probably that he sucked his thumb until he was in sixth grade- and still does sometimes when he's sleeping," she giggled. "It's so kawaii [2] when he does!" Yusuke looked rather disgruntled as the girls all laughed, and even Kurama couldn't help chuckling.

But it was his turn next, and Yusuke chose revenge on Botan. She picked Truth, figuring it was safer. "What really goes on between you and the toddler brat?" the Spirit Detective demanded with a smirk.

Botan seemed rather insulted by what he was suggesting. "Koenma-sama [3] tried to hit on me once, but I hit him over the head with my oar. He was a little drunk, actually," she added thoughtfully. "But that is the extent of any romance between me and Koenma-sama!"

Mizuki was rolling on the floor laughing. "I remember that! Koenma-anchan had too much sake [4] at my last birthday party!"

After getting Mizuki to calm down (not an easy feat considering she'd had the last of her Pocky less than ten minutes before), it was Keiko's turn. She chose Yukina, who was sitting quietly and observing the rest. Despite the groaned protests of Yusuke and Mizuki that things were getting boring, the ice demoness chose Truth. Keiko insisted that she had to know exactly how Yukina felt about Kuwabara.

"Kazuma-san is very kind, but his affections for me are not mutual," Yukina admitted.

"I don't blame you. He's a hentai!" Mizuki commented sourly. "That's why I didn't let him come here."

"Anyway, it's your turn Yukina-chan," Keiko reminded her.

"I will ask... Mizu-chan," Yukina decided. Mizuki was the first one brave enough to choose Dare. "I dare you to..." Yukina paused, unable to think of a suitable Dare. Botan came to the rescue, jumping up and whispering in Yukina's ear. "I dare you to sleep in Kurama-san's bed with him tonight," Yukina said, repeating what Botan had told her. Kurama immediately blushed beet red from embarrassment; Mizuki did the same in anger.

"You can refuse the Dare if you want to," Botan said mockingly.

"You know I never turn down a Dare. It's a point of honor," Mizuki replied angrily. She turned to Kurama. "You got the green and yellow room, right?" The kitsune nodded, and Mizuki looked a bit happier- just a little bit. "Well, at least you chose the guy with the king-sized bed," she grumbled. "But I still hate you, Botan-chan." The reaper just smiled.

But then it was Mizuki's turn, and she decided to invoke her Double Dare immediately. "This is for everyone. Kurama-kun, Yusuke-kun, you have to go downstairs and get Hiei-kun. Girls, we're gonna have some fun with the make-up."

"No way. No frickin' way! You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?!" Yusuke shouted.

"That depends. What do you think I'm going to do?" Mizuki asked innocently.

"You're going to give the shrimp a makeover!" Yusuke answered. Mizuki grinned evilly and nodded. "Oh Kami [5], and you're going to make us hold him down." Mizuki continued to grin and nodded once again. "And we can't refuse the Double Dare, right?" She nodded yet again. "Come on, Kurama-kun, let's get this over with." The boys headed downstairs, and while they were gone the girls all gathered up Mizuki's brightest colored makeup.

It took a while, but soon Yusuke and Kurama returned with a struggling Hiei held between them. "What the hell are you doing?!" the fire demon raged while the boys pinned him down to a chair in Mizuki's room.

"Sorry, Hiei-san, but we didn't have a choice," Kurama apologized. "It was a dare we couldn't refuse, literally."

"Stay away from me with that," Hiei warned the girls as they advanced upon him. Yukina had the foundation and blush, Keiko had lipstick and eye makeup, Botan had nail polish, and Mizuki had a bottle of something Hiei didn't recognize.

They had to work very hard to hold Hiei in place. The hardest part was the nail polish; they finally gave up on his fingers and moved on to his toes. When they were finished, Hiei had bright pink cheeks, red lips, purple eye shadow and eyeliner, lime green toenails, and yellow streaks in his black hair (the unidentified bottle Mizuki had was temporary hair dye). "Whose idea was this?!" Hiei demanded when Yusuke and Kurama were finished. Everyone pointed to a brightly smiling Mizuki. She grinned wider, causing Hiei to lung at her. But he slammed into something before reaching her; there was a shimmer in the air rippling away from his point of impact. "What did you do, onna?!" the fire demon demanded as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Protective barrier," Mizuki chirped happily.

"And why didn't you use this against the assassin?" Kurama asked.

"I can't use it unless I have a fair estimate of my opponent's strength. Not enough power, they get through. Too much, they might die," Mizuki answered. "Besides, the barrier is purely defensive and can only be activated with conscious effort. I can't attack with it and it's no good against surprise attacks."

"Sounds like a waste of Spirit Energy to me," Yusuke commented.

"It's not Spirit Energy, it's a spell," Mizuki explained. "My Spirit Energy is very low. I can't use it for anything like that. It's only good for transforming from one form to another like Koenma-anchan."

"Very interesting," Hiei drawled sarcastically. He had gotten to his feet some time ago and had been glaring hatefully at Mizuki ever since. Now she acknowledged him with a cheerful grin, making his stare colder than ever. "I'll deal with you later," the fire demon finally said before heading downstairs to wash off the offending makeup.

As soon as he was out the door, Yusuke fell to the floor laughing. "Oh Kami, Mizu-chan, that is HILARIOUS!" he managed to get out. Keiko and Yukina had been smothering their giggles in pillows all along and were now able to remove the cushions and laugh out loud. Mizuki and Botan were laughing and doing what appeared to be a strange victory dance. Even Kurama was laughing so hard that he had to sit down in the chair where Hiei had been imprisoned.

"That is probably the one thing I never thought I'd see," the kitsune admitted when everyone was a little calmer.

"If only we'd been able to get him into a dress, it would have been perfect," Botan added. With everyone so worked up from the prank there was no way they'd be sleeping for a while. It was time to get back to Truth or Dare. It was Kurama's turn, and he chose Yusuke.

"Dare me," Yusuke said cockily.

"I dare you to put on girls' clothes and go flirt with Hiei-san," Kurama said without hesitation.

"HELL NO!" Yusuke shouted. "The shrimp is already mad at us! He'd KILL me!"

"If Yusuke-kun refuses then you get to pick anything you want him to do," Mizuki told Kurama in a sing-song voice.

"Another Dare," Kurama announced. "Strip down to everything but your underwear until my next turn." Yusuke blushed slightly, but decided that Kurama's dares were dangerous and he'd better take a relatively safe one while he could. He peeled off his clothing until he was down to a pair of blue and white striped boxers. All of the girls giggled as if they'd been scandalized, except for Keiko who just rolled her eyes a little. She had apparently seen the spectacle before.

"You're pretty good at this for never playing before, Kurama-kun," Mizuki observed with a sly smirk.

"Let me remind you that I wasn't always a good guy," the kitsune replied mischievously. The glint in his eyes bordered on evil. "And a few of my old partners in crime were masters of dares."

The game went on like this for almost three hours more. After everyone stopped taking dares from Mizuki and Kurama (those two had no mercy!), they finally decided the game was worn out. "Don't forget about your Dare, Mizu-chan," Botan reminded her friend with a malicious grin. Kurama blushed again and Mizuki growled.

"I'll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes," Mizuki told Kurama. "I'm going to kill you, Botan-chan."

"Sure, sure," Botan giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "Oh, yes, Keiko, I'll need your help for a moment." Botan grabbed Keiko by the arm and dragged her into her room. Everyone else retired to their own rooms for the night.

Mizuki changed into baby blue pajama pants with yellow stars and orange moons, and a matching t-shirt with a large yellow star on the front. After grabbing her favorite pillow (lime green and super-fuzzy) and her favorite blanket (a yellow afghan with blue and orange starburst shapes), she went down the spiral stairs to Kurama's room. There she found an unexpected sight: Botan and Keiko standing outside the closed door, Botan yelling and demanding entry while holding a video camera, Keiko giggling and holding a tripod. "Do you honestly think we can trust you without evidence? You and Mizu-chan are both way too sneaky!" Botan shouted.

"A video was not part of the deal!" Kurama shouted back, his voice muffled by the door. "Either put that camera back or the dare is off!"

"What is going on here?" Mizuki demanded, stomping her foot on the floor to get Botan's attention.

"I don't trust you two to carry out your dare," Botan replied cheerily, an evil grin on her face. "So in order to prove that you actually slept in the same bed, I'm going to take a video." She held up the video camera, and Keiko brandished the tripod.

"That is SO not why you want a video. You just want blackmail," Mizuki replied. "No dice."

"But PLEASE, Mizu-chan?!" Botan begged, dropping to one knee. "I promise you it's only for evidence! You can burn the tape afterwards!"

"IIE [6]!" Mizuki shouted. "NO TAPE!"

"Then you have to sleep in the same bed as Kurama all week to be sure that you did," Botan countered. At this, the door flung open to reveal a beet-red Kurama standing in the doorway. From the expression on his face, the blush was as much from anger as embarrassment.

"You have one minute to set up your camera. If it takes any longer, I'm kicking you out of my room whether you're done or not," he said coldly. "Time starts now." Botan and Keiko rushed inside, setting up the camera in a corner of the room facing the bed. It took 57 seconds. Botan and Keiko then skittered out and ran to their own rooms, giggling uncontrollably.

"And you let them do that... WHY?!" Mizuki demanded.

"To make them shut up, of course," Kurama replied, the redness of his face fading just a bit. "Now, the sooner we get to sleep, the sooner morning will come and this will be over." He climbed into bed, making sure to stay close to one side of the bed. Mizuki climbed onto the other side of the bed, not bothering to get under the covers since she'd brought her own pillow and blanket. Soon she was snoring loudly. Kurama chuckled before rolling over and pulling a pillow over his head. It was going to be a long night.

Translations

1: -san is a term used to indicate respect, like Mr., Mrs., or Miss

2: Cute

3: -sama is a higher term of respect than -san, usually translated as "Lord" or "Sir"

4: A Japanese alcohol

5: God

6: No


	6. Waffles and Kittens

Imouto

Amai: I've told you five times about the translations. From now on, no note. You know the drill.

Oh, but in this chapter there will be some English speaking. It's different because it's enclosed in + instead of " "

And now for the responses to my favorite people... the REVIEWERS!

Sillyningengirl: Yes, I really wanted to add the dress, but I figured it was a stretch as it was to get him into make-up

SeaHorse10: Hiei would never use his Darkness Flame against his friends or allies, I don't remember Yusuke wearing a dress, and I don't care what's happening with Kuwabaka... he'll be back eventually, I just don't know when.

Yavie Aelinel: Yes, the bed dare was all in good humor. Botan is evil, you know, at least when it comes to Truth or Dare.

Ryune-chan: The half-naked Yusuke was a gift to all Urameshi-kun fangirls! Glad you liked it!

CHAPTER SIX: Waffles and kittens

When Kurama woke up, despite the early hour, Mizuki was already gone. He looked over at the clock to ensure that he hadn't slept too late. But it was only 6 AM. Since he was already awake, Kurama headed downstairs. Everyone else was apparently still sleeping. But as he got about halfway down the stairs, the kitsune could smell something cooking and hear music from the general direction of the kitchen.

Mizuki was in the kitchen, surrounded by cooking ingredients and stirring a large bowl. There was a stack of waffles building up on one of the counters and a steaming waffle iron next to it. "Ohayo (1) Kurama-kun! It's waffle day!" Mizuki said when she saw him.

"Ohayo... but what's 'waffle day'?" Kurama asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table to watch.

"Once a month I make waffles, and I freeze the extras," Mizuki explained. "Then I eat waffles whenever I feel like it! I've been up since 5."

"Why so early?" Kurama raised an eyebrow. This girl apparently didn't sleep.

"Because this month, waffle day just happens to fall on a Thursday," Mizuki said as if that explained everything.

Kurama stared for a moment, thinking she was going to explain further. "And...?" he finally prompted.

"And what?"

"What is the difference between Thursday and other days?" Kurama asked, trying very hard to maintain his patience.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays I volunteer with the local animal shelter. I have to be there at eight."

"So I guess that means we have to come too?" Kurama sighed.

"Yeah, guess so!" Mizuki replied cheerily. "Milly-san will be so happy to have more help!" She went back to her waffle iron with an even bigger smile on her face.

Everyone slowly filtered downstairs to be greeted by a plate full of fresh waffles. When the last one (Yusuke, of course) was present, Kurama decided to announce their trip to the animal shelter.

"No friggin' way," Yusuke replied before stuffing another piece of waffle dripping with syrup into his mouth."

"I'm not going," Hiei said simply.

"Well I think it sounds like fun," Botan chirped.

"I don't suppose all of us need to go," Kurama offered. "If Yusuke and Hiei don't want to come, then I will. Besides, if the assassin shows up while we're gone, someone will need to be here."

"I'll come too!" Keiko piped up.

"I'd like to come as well," Yukina added quietly.

"Then it's settled! Kurama and the girls are coming with me to the animal shelter!" As she ended her announcement, Mizuki leapt to her feet and waved her fork in the air to accent her point. However, there was still a chunk of waffle dripping with syrup impaled on the utensil. It went flying across the table and landed in Yusuke's hair.

"Oh, that's sick," Yusuke complained while Mizuki babbled an apology. Despite his complaints he merely grabbed the gooey glob and flopped it on the table.

After the kitchen was clean Kurama and the girls had to get ready to leave. Since Yukina and Keiko shared a bathroom, Yusuke loaned his out to Keiko while he vegged on the couch. About half an hour later Mizuki burst from her room. Part of her short hair was pulled into two pigtails high on the sides of her head and she was dressed in a too-large pink t-shirt, jeans tie-dyed with bleach, and pink tennis shoes. "READY!" she announced as she pounded on Botan's door.

"Just a minute!" Botan yelled from behind the door. "I'm not quite ready yet!" Mizuki sighed; Botan had always been such a slowpoke. She headed downstairs to find Kurama, Keiko and Yukina already waiting. As soon as Botan was ready, though, Mizuki announced that they were taking her car. She led them all to a detached garage and pushed a button on her keychain to open the door. As the door slid up, everyone (except of course Mizuki) had a look of shock on their faces. Mizuki's car was a bubblegum-pink minivan.

"That's unique," Kurama commented tactfully.

"Oh, my car is magic," Mizuki replied as if it was no big deal. "It's not just a minivan, it can transform into anything I want. I can also make it a convertible, an SUV, or a VW Beetle."

"Is it always that color of pink?" Botan asked.

"Yup! Isn't it pretty?" Mizuki grinned, and all the girls hesitantly nodded. Kurama decided it was safest not to answer at all. Mizuki put him in the front seat, though she commented sadly on how the kitsune's hair clashed with the paint job. The other girls made their own decisions on who sat where in the back. Mizuki climbed into the driver's seat and giggled wildly. It was then that everyone realized they should be very, very afraid.

The pink minivan pealed out of the garage with a shriek of tires. It flew down the long driveway and hardly slowed down before pulling onto the street, which fortunately wasn't busy. They maintained this breakneck speed through several city blocks before screeching to a halt in a parking space in front of a small, plain building. Everyone in the car was very glad they had worn their seatbelts. "We're here!" Mizuki announced as she hopped out.

"Thank Kami," Kurama muttered as he carefully crawled out, not trusting his wobbling knees to hold him.

Mizuki was apparently eager to get inside because she left her guests standing at the van as she zoomed through the door. +Milly, we have more helpers+ she shouted in English. A rather stout but very tall middle-aged woman stepped into the front lobby just as Kurama and the girls entered.

Hello+ she said warmly, although since she was speaking English only Botan understood. The others merely looked confused.

"She says 'Ohayo'," Mizuki translated. She then turned back to Milly. +Only Botan speaks English very well+ she explained.

Oh, Milly chuckled. +Well, I can still put them to work. You don't have to speak English to feed puppies and clean cages. But I need you on a special case this morning, Mizuki. We got some new kittens in and they still need to be nursed, but they just won't take a bottle from me. You're best with those kinds.+ Mizuki nodded and quickly translated to her friends, leaving instructions for everyone to listen to Milly and for Botan to be translator. Then she headed off to the back room where the new babies were.

It really wasn't easy to do the work when everything had to be translated, but since there were five people doing the work that was normally only handled by two, it actually went fairly fast. Mizuki emerged just as they were finishing and began talking to Milly. +The other two are doing fine, just put a little milk on the bottle and they'll drink from it. This one still won't eat, though. I'm going to take her home and see what I can do.+ She unbundled a tiny ball of fur to reveal a fluffy, big-headed, green-eyed calico kitten.

"Kawaii (2), koneko (3)!" the girls squealed, gathering around Mizuki to get a better look. "How old is she?" Keiko asked.

"About two and a half or three weeks," Mizuki answered. "So she still needs to be nursed, but she just isn't taking the bottle. She's coming home with us." She tucked the kitten into her chest and tried again, in vain, to offer the bottle. "Kurama, I'll need you to drive for me so I can hold this little gal."

"No problem," Kurama agreed quickly. A silent sigh of relief rippled through the room.

Mizuki then gave her own sigh. "I just wish your hair didn't clash!"

)()(Translations)()(

1. Good Morning

2. Cute

3. Kitten


	7. A New Resident

Imouto

Amai: Yay, I've been waiting for this chapter! I introduce someone new! Although, I think most if not all of you will know him... but I'm not telling who it is!

I wasn't too happy with how short this was... but it was either that or have it too long, I guess.

CHAPTER SEVEN: A new resident

By the time they returned home it was after lunchtime, and Kurama headed to the kitchen since Mizuki was still trying to get the kitten to eat. Mizuki sat down on the couch, trying everything to make the little furball take the bottle. "What are you doing, onna(1)?" Hiei asked as he peered over Mizuki's shoulder. The kitten peered into his crimson eyes and promptly began to climb up Mizuki's chest to reach the fire demon.

"I'm trying to get her to eat," Mizuki replied. "I think she likes you better though. Here." She shoved the kitten into the crook of one of Hiei's arms and the bottle into his opposite hand and poked the bottle toward the kitten's mouth. She immediately took the nipple in her mouth and suckled eagerly.

"Nani(2)!" Hiei exclaimed, an uncharacteristic look of confusion on his face.

"Look, it's Hiei-kaasan(3)!" cackled Yusuke, who had been sitting in an easy chair watching TV.

"Urusai(4)!" Hiei snapped. He thrust the kitten back at Mizuki, who happily discovered that the kitty now liked the bottle and would take it for her, too.

"Arigatou(5), Hiei-kun!" she said, giving the fire demon a quick peck on the cheek for thanks. He looked very taken aback.

"What was that for!" Hiei shouted. Mizuki giggled and retreated to the kitchen.

"What was all that commotion about?" Kurama asked as Mizuki took a seat at the table.

"Hiei-kun helped me get the kitty to eat, but I don't think he wanted to be thanked," she replied vaguely.

"Are you going to name it?" Kurama asked, referring to the kitten. "You can't just keep referring to her as 'koneko'."

"Then I'll call her... Hineko(6)-chan."

"Fire-cat?" Kurama looked skeptically at the little thing.

"She likes Hiei best," Mizuki explained. Hineko wriggled off of Mizuki's lap and bounded for the living room on unsteady kitty paws. "Dunno why, but she spotted him and just lit right up!"

"It might have something to do with his ki field. Animals sometimes have a liking for certain waves. Hiei's is certainly unique since he's a combination of fire and ice."

"Could be." Mizuki just shrugged and got up to help Kurama cook.

"Take this thing," Hiei grumbled, holding Hineko at arms' length. The little calico purred loudly, seemingly just happy to be in contact with her favorite person.

"Her name is Hineko, and it's not my fault she likes you so much," Mizuki replied, taking the kitten and setting her on the floor. "It's time for dinner, she can take care of herself for a while."

"Hn." Hiei joined the others at the table for a meal of spaghetti with meatballs and a giant loaf of garlic bread. The meal had barely begun and Yukina was in the middle of a story about a puppy she'd encountered at the animal shelter that morning when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, you guys go ahead and eat," Mizuki said, hopping up from the table. Kurama knew better than to let her out of their sight, especially at the door or windows where the assassin could get in, so he stood up and placed himself next to the kitchen door so that he could hear everything. When the door opened, Mizuki screamed. Kurama was in the living room instantly, with Yusuke and Hiei right behind.

"Jin-kun!" Mizuki screamed again, throwing her arms around the redheaded wind demon's neck. "I haven't seen you in so long! What brings you here?" The boys looked relieved that there was no danger, but a bit angry that Mizuki had scared them so badly.

"Koenma-sama told me about your encounter and I figured you could use all the help you could get," Jin said with his light Irish accent as he happily returned Mizuki's hug. "How are these guys treating you, Zuki-chan?"

"Don't call me Zuki-chan," Mizuki scolded. "They're treating me just fine. We've had lots of fun!"

"How do you know this guy?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow at Jin.

"Jin-kun has been my friend since we were little," Mizuki explained. "Koenma-anchan doesn't like it too much 'cause of the martial arts and Dark Tournament stuff, but Jin-kun is like another anchan to me."

"You bet," Jin agreed, though his grin looked a bit strained.

"I'm going to go get the girls," Mizuki said, running into the kitchen with a giggle.

"So why are you really here?" Yusuke asked, ever suspicious.

"I couldn't leave my Zuki-chan here with just the likes of you, Urameshi," Jin chuckled. "There's no telling what ideas you'll put into her innocent head."

"Innocent! If anything she's been the one torturing us," Yusuke protested. "I think Kurama's the only one who's escaped."

"I took her to my house. I have escaped nothing," Kurama replied.

"You weren't forced to wear make-up, kitsune. You got off easy," Hiei complained. At just about that time Mizuki re-entered the living room with Botan, Yukina and Keiko in tow.

"Dinner is getting cold," she said. "We've got spaghetti and garlic bread!" Mizuki tugged on Jin's arm, and everyone went back to the kitchen.

1. Insulting term for "woman"

2. What!

3. Mommy Hiei

4. Shut up

5. Thank you

6. Hi- fire, neko- cat, Hineko- fire cat


	8. More ArrowStomping

Imouto

Amai: Okay, so it's been a long time... sorry! -runs and hides from rampaging angry readers-

CHAPTER EIGHT: More Arrow-Stomping!

Later in the evening, Jin and the guys were catching up down in the living room while the girls did... something up in Mizuki's room. "So what exactly is your relationship with Mizu-chan?" Kurama asked Jin. He shrugged.

"We've been friends forever. I've asked her out on dates before, but I don't think she figured out that they were supposed to be dates. Zuki-chan is very innocent." He gave another helpless shrug. "All I know for sure is that I wouldn't give her up for the world, whether she was my girlfriend or just a friend. She's too much darn fun!"

"Where are you going to stay while you're here?" Yusuke asked. He didn't say it, but he was indicating that he was not going to be sharing his room. He had gotten too used to having his own.

"Dun' worry, I have my own room upstairs next to Zuki-chan's. I'm around here quite a bit." He grinned when the other guys gave him an odd look.

"Jin-kun!" Mizuki yelled with amazing volume down the stairs. "Come teach these girls the right way to play DDR!"

"I'm still in my fighting clothes, I came over in a hurry!" Jin shouted back. "You know I can't dance in them!"

"You have clothes in your room! Change and then come dance!" Jin chuckled and headed up the stairs to his room.

"DDR... is that their stupid arrow-stomping game?" asked Hiei, who was the only one to have experienced the game.

"I don't know what it is," Kurama admitted. Yusuke nodded, meaning that he didn't either. "Sounds interesting, though."

Much to Hiei's chagrin, Kurama and Yusuke were soon dragging him up the stairs to get a look at the 'arrow-stomping game'. They beat Jin to Mizuki's room where they found Yukina and Mizuki standing on square floor mats with arrows and game controller symbols on them. "You have to step on the arrows when they line up with the other arrows at the top of the screen," Mizuki was explaining to Yukina. The koorime nodded but still looked lost.

"Zuki-chan, let's show 'em how it's done!" Jin suddenly announced from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at him and all but Mizuki were rather surprised to see him wearing baggy denim shorts and a black t-shirt.

"Don't call me Zuki-chan," Mizuki reminded him for the umpteenth time. Yukina stepped off her mat and Jin took over. He quickly chose a song both he and Mizuki seemed familiar with; it was called "Break Down". "I gotta switch down to standard, I can't do level nine," Mizuki complained.

"Wimp," Jin teased. As soon as the song began their feet started flying. Everyone's jaw dropped when Jin just decided out of the blue to flip over and dance on his hands for a few moments before going back to his feet and missing only a couple of steps in the process.

"Show off!" Mizuki shouted above the music. Soon the song was over. Jin hadn't even broken a sweat, but Mizuki was breathing heavily. "Jin has all the high scores on all my games," she complained as she flopped down on the bed. She had been playing DDR since almost immediately after dinner and was just plain tired.

"It's not my fault I'm good," Jin replied with a wide, reckless grin.

"You have demon strength and endurance, it's an unfair advantage," Mizuki replied, sticking her tongue out.

Kurama noticed that the match wasn't finished, even if Mizuki was. "I'd like to try," he volunteered. Hiei looked shocked that his friend would even consider such a thing and finally left the room.

"You'll get too hot in that," Jin pointed out, indicating Kurama's long-sleeved outfit. The kitsune nodded and began to take off his shirt, which for some reason got all the girls' attention. He was only wearing a white wife-beater underneath.

"Look at that, now we're sure Kurama's a guy," Botan giggled, causing him to turn red.

"Aw, leave him alone Botan," Mizuki chided. "He's trying to play!"

"Why would Kurama-san be a girl?" Yukina asked innocently, looking quite confused. Kurama, however, looked more grateful.

"Shuddup and play!" Mizuki commanded, eager to see what Kurama could do.

"Sure, sure," Jin replied, exasperated. He showed Kurama how to switch the controls down to an easier level and picked out a song that wasn't too hard. Kurama did so well on "Dream a Dream" that Mizuki immediately demanded he try Standard. On "Burnin' Heat" Kurama didn't exactly get an "A", but he passed!

"You're really good!" Mizuki praised. "Hey, can you dance for real, like ballroom dancing and stuff?"

"I don't know... why?" Kurama asked. He noticed that Jin was looking at both of them with a rather hurt expression.

"I've been trying to sign up for dance lessons, but Jin-kun won't go and I need a partner!" Mizuki answered.

"You know I would, Zuki-chan, but with this horn on my forehead and my ears I'm not exactly going to pass as human," Jin pleaded. Mizuki didn't even correct him on the "Zuki-chan" part.

"If I sign up tomorrow I can still start this month. Please say you'll go, Kurama-kun! Please?" She put on her very best puppy dog pout.

Kurama glanced back at Jin, then again at Mizuki. "Sure, I'll do it," he agreed.

No Japanese translations this chapter, you should know all the words I used for now


	9. Just another day, really

Imouto

Amai: Not really sure what to say about this chapter... so, um, have fun reading!

CHAPTER NINE: Just another day, really.

"Uno!" Mizuki shouted, holding up her single card.

"We're not playing Uno, we're playing Go Fish," Kurama corrected her. "We're not even playing with an Uno deck."

"But I do only have one... that's a good thing, right?" Mizuki smiled brightly and everyone just shook their heads. Once everyone had worn themselves out playing DDR they had moved into the living room to play cards. Hiei had rejoined them; everyone had been a little surprised to find that he actually liked to play cards.

"Get rid of your baka neko, onna," Hiei commanded, holding Hineko towards Mizuki by the scruff of its neck. "She's too loud."

"She's just hungry. I'll take care of her," Mizuki replied, taking the kitten gently in her hands and heading toward the kitchen.

"Botan-chan, do you have any girl cards?" Yukina asked, staring at her hand.

"They're called queens, Yukina-chan," the ferry girl replied. "And I don't have any. Go Fish." Mizuki returned holding Hineko and a bottle.

"She won't eat again, you do it," she said, putting the kitten in Hiei's arms. He tried to get away, insisting that he didn't care whether the stupid cat ate or not. Mizuki stayed and forced him to offer the bottle until Hineko took it. Once she had the kitten eating Mizuki could take her from Hiei, and she returned happily to her seat between Kurama and Jin.

)()-()-()-()(

"We haven't seen any signs of the assassin," Hiei complained one night at dinner while Hineko played with his toes. "How long will this take?"

"We don't know, and Koenma-sama told us that," Yusuke replied. "We just have to be patient."

"What if we're needed somewhere else and we're here eating hamburgers?" Hiei asked, holding his burger in the air and staring at it disdainfully.

"Koenma-sama will send for us if we're needed. One of us can stay behind with Mizu-chan while the others go," Kurama answered. "You worry too much, Hiei-san." The fire demon merely 'hn'-ed.

"Relax and enjoy yourself, Hiei-kun! My house is fun!" Mizuki giggled. "And you've made a new friend."

"I hate this neko," Hiei mumbled, kicking halfheartedly at the kitten, which mewed cutely and batted back.

"And I thought animals were supposed to be good judges of character," Botan commented, looking under the table at Hineko.

"Obviously Hiei has a secret side he's never shown us," Mizuki replied cheerily. "Either that or Hineko-chan is trying to make him happy."

"It's not working," Hiei growled.

"Lighten up, Hiei-san," Jin said. "It's just an innocent little creature. Once it grows up it'll learn better than to like you!"

"Only if it lives that long!" Hiei exclaimed as Hineko jumped onto his leg, happily digging in her claws.

Life progressed this way for three full months with no sign of the assassin, much to Hiei's chagrin. Keiko had to go home at the end of the first month to continue school; Yusuke happily gloated that he didn't have to go back until the mission was finished. Twice the Spirit Detectives had been informed of another mission, and they took turns staying with Mizuki and going out. Hiei had been stuck with the first shift since he had lost the game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, and Yusuke was second; Kurama had already agreed to stay the next time to keep it fair. Now, it was time for him to keep his bargain.

Koenma popped into the living room in the middle of a game of poker that Yukina was somehow winning. "She's got the perfect poker face!" Yusuke was yelling. "She's always smiling!"

"You might be doing better if you didn't eat your winnings," Koenma observed. They were playing with M&Ms.

"Koenma-anchan!" Mizuki shouted with glee, jumping up to hug him. Then she paused, holding him struggling in her arms. "Aww, you came to take my friends away again, didn't you?"

"They have a mission, Mizuki-imouto," Koenma reminded her sharply, having to be the leader. "Besides, I don't take all of them, only two."

"But Kurama-kun and I have dance lessons!" Mizuki wailed, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Mizu-chan, it's my turn to stay," Kurama assured her.

"YAY!" Mizuki dropped her toddler-sized brother and leapt on Kurama instead. "We're learning how to salsa dance this week!" She hugged Kurama's neck tightly and he chuckled.

"Don't forget that you promised to teach me what you learned when you get back," Jin reminded Mizuki with a "look" directed at Kurama.

"Of course!" she agreed, jumping to give Jin a hug as well.

"As much as I care about your dance lessons," Kurama interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "we have to get going. Yusuke, Hiei, come along."

"Bye bye Yusuke-kun!" Bye bye Hiei-kun!" Mizuki said as she hugged each of them. "Be safe and have fun!" Botan and Yukina waved goodbye and the detectives followed Koenma through a portal.

"Split their pots," Jin said, ready to get right back to poker.

)()-()-()-()(

"We have to get groceries after our lessons, so we'll be back just in time to fix dinner," Mizuki told Jin as she and Kurama prepared to leave. "Take good care of Botan-chan and Yukina-chan!"

"I feel like a babysitter," Jin complained playfully as he hugged her goodbye. "I won't let them burn the house down or ruin their dinners." Mizuki chuckled and tapped him on the nose with a fingertip.

"We're going to be late, Mizu-chan," Kurama said gently. "We'd better get going."

"Sayonara!" Mizuki shouted, waving to Botan and Yukina in the living room. Kurama then took her by the hand and led her to the garage, where they drove Mizuki's car in its convertible form- with Kurama behind the wheel, thankfully.


End file.
